SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

FIGURE 5.13:
High shares of urban residents still live
in slums
Source: UN DESA 2015a.
FIGURE 5.14:
The number of people living in slums
is increasing
Source: UN DESA 2015a.
best business environment and being the best
place to live, Singapore was once a city with
polluted rivers and massive infrastructure and
housing shortages. In the 1950s, more than 50
percent of its people lived in slums and squatter
settlements. In 1960, the government initiated
a new public housing programme to provide
affordable housing for low-income communities.
Based on careful planning and coordinated development,
guided by well-equipped institutions
and regulations that have evolved as needed
over time, and rooted in the principle of being
responsive to people’s needs, the programme
has had a central role in making Singapore the
flourishing city it is today. More than 80 percent
of people live in publicly constructed housing,
90 percent of whom are homeowners. Over 99
percent of the city’s slums have been cleared as
alternative, improved housing became available,
contributing to urban renewal. Satisfaction
with public housing consistently surpasses 80
percent. 37
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
In driving economic activity and human development
gains, cities consume vast quantities of
energy, water and other resources, and generate
more greenhouse gas emissions and waste than
rural areas. The responses of city governments
to these challenges will have direct consequences
on human development and the long-term
sustainability of both cities and nations—and
the world.
World Health Organization (WHO) latest
data on 2,000 cities show pollution worsening
globally, but the problem is most acute in
Asia-Pacific. In 2014, 15 of the 20 most polluted
places were in India and China. The others
were in Bangladesh, the Islamic Republic of
Iran and Pakistan. Of the worst 100, nearly 70
were in Asia and only a handful in Europe or
the United States. 38
Air pollutants in particular are extremely
hazardous to human health, with consequences
such as respiratory illness, lung cancers and
premature deaths among babies. In a number of
Asian cities, levels are significantly above WHO
recommendations. Growing public concern has
motivated stepped-up efforts to curb pollution,
such as by imposing traffic rules to reduce private
15 of the 20 most
polluted cities in
the world are in India
and China
165